Beldhia Dhaki Para in Goghat is home to more than two hundred Dhaki families that are striving to make ends meet. The cobbler caste of Goghat has played the dhak, a large hollow wooden barrel-shaped drum covered on both sides with an animal leather sheet, as a family custom for generations.
In Bengal, the Dhakis typically make a good living during the festival season, which includes Vishwakarma, Ganesh, Durga, Kali, Jagadhatri, and Kartik pujas. However, due to the current state of affairs, the Dhakis are no longer able to demand their rights.
According to Raj Kumar Rui Das, a Dhaki, Dhakis are typically members of the cobbler caste, and playing the dhak is only allowed within the cobbler family. However, other castes are now pursuing dhak playing as an additional source of income. Instead of using the traditional wooden barrel dhak, these castes are using aluminum drums with fiber sheet, which presents a serious threat to Goghat’s traditional dhakis.
Raj Kumar went on to say, “The puja organizers who previously paid us a respectable amount of ten thousand are now only offering an amount of five thousand. During the off-season, we take up agricultural work as our livelihood, but the cost of seeds and manure has shot up, hence we are unable to carry on with agriculture. The hundred days of work came as a boon to us, but now it is stopped, even our pending dues are not cleared, and we are facing a tough time with our families to meet both ends.”
This is not where the difficulties end. Raj Kumar therefore pleaded with Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of Bengal, saying, “We are also deprived of the beneficiary schemes of the state government. We beg our chief minister, Didi Moni, to investigate our issues and take action to protect the Dhaki community in order to prevent the loss of the Goghat Dhakis’ century-old Dhak playing culture.”